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Multi-Pack Exclusive: GREAT GATSPEED

I’ve been in a little bit of a #Hot Wheels Race Team lull as of late. I have so many, that the only ones I have left to find are rare or expensive — or both! So suffice to say that I was in the Walmart checkout lane a couple weeks ago and I looked down at the 3-Packs and one car caught my eye: #Great Gatspeed!

Hot Wheels Great Gatspeed, a 2017 Multi-Pack Exclusive (side view)

In the world of Hot Wheels #Multi-Pack Exclusives, their unannounced arrival can sometimes cause them to go untracked in the Hot Wheels database world. Fortunately, there are now a few individuals who specifically track these, like Jim Garbaczewski over at the Hot Wheels Newsletter. Even with the great list that Jim provides, that still doesn’t stop even seasoned collectors like myself from overlooking these non-segmented releases.

I spotted this #Great Gatspeed release in the Hot Wheels 9-Packs earlier in 2017, but was undecided if this car was worthy of my #Hot Wheels Race Team collection … so I passed on it due to my own indecision. As the year wore on, I forgot to add it to my working list of Hot Wheels Race Team vehicles, so I was no longer in search of it specifically. That was, until a couple weeks ago when I was in the aforementioned Walmart checkout lane in the midst of that Race Team lull. There it was again — this time in the 3-Pack you see below. I instantly decided it met my Hot Wheels Race Team criteria — must be blue with Hot Wheels as the primary livery — and have since added it to the collection.

The Great Gatspeed is a rather unique Hot Wheels car, which (I assume) was inspired by the cars in The Great Gatsby — a 1925 novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and most recently adapted to the silver screen in 2013 starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The Hot Wheels #Great Gatspeed made its debut in 2015, having been designed by former Hot Wheels Designer (now Matchbox Designer), Abe Lugo. The casting’s long body, open roof and asymmetry are all intriguing, as these features set it apart from anything else Hot Wheels has ever done.